Standing inside the Thousand Tower, Natsuhiko quietly watched the Ryūmyaku chakra below as it churned and surged like a raging current. The aura growing from it became clearer and more intense with every passing moment.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
At this moment, he had no idea that the chaos he had caused in the Land of Wind had created an opportunity for Konoha. Nor did he know that the village had already dispatched someone like Murashima Takumi, hoping to take advantage of the situation to eliminate Ebizo.
After all, Ebizo was the head of Sunagakure's ANBU.
The secrets that old man held in his hands were likely enough to shake the entire shinobi world.
Given a chance like this, no one would willingly let it slip away.
Because Ebizo was simply too dangerous.
Natsuhiko stood silently, observing the roaring Ryūmyaku.
Early this morning, he had received word from Sara—the queen had finally discovered where he was hiding.
According to her message, the Ryūmyaku had reached the most violent stage of its cycle.
Sara could clearly sense it herself: the surging chakra beneath Rōran was becoming increasingly condensed.
The news instantly lifted Natsuhiko's spirits.
Although his recent experiments with extracting life force had left him thoroughly frustrated, progress in another direction was still something worth celebrating.
In fact, Natsuhiko had already made a decision.
If he still couldn't resolve that problem before leaving, then he would simply come clean.
After all, he was someone with a very flexible moral bottom line.
And he had never intended to deceive Queen Sara.
At worst, he could return to Konoha, study the problem more carefully, and come back another time to help.
"Though if I do that… the queen might start slacking off," Natsuhiko muttered to himself inwardly.
Shaking away the stray thought, he focused his attention entirely on the Ryūmyaku's chakra.
The Ryūmyaku was indeed beginning to surface.
However, the amount of chakra emerging was relatively small—insignificant compared to the immense ocean of energy contained within the Ryūmyaku itself.
Moreover, the chakra seemed to be constantly eroded by the sealing barrier surrounding it.
It carried a battered, almost wounded feeling.
But that actually suited Natsuhiko just fine.
If the Ryūmyaku's chakra had been too overwhelming, even he would have been a little wary of touching it.
"Thank you for your help, Your Majesty," Natsuhiko said with a small smile, nodding toward Sara. "With this chakra, I believe my objective this time will finally be achieved."
"We are simply taking what we each need," Sara replied, shaking her head gently. She sighed softly before continuing, "I only hope you will keep your promise. That is all I ask."
Natsuhiko couldn't help but fall momentarily silent at her answer.
Fortunately, he was wearing a mask, so Sara couldn't see the expression on his face.
After giving a casual nod, he crouched down.
The fluctuations in the Ryūmyaku's chakra were growing stronger and stronger.
Even the sealing barrier seemed to be reaching its limit under the pressure of that restless energy.
Taking a deep breath, Natsuhiko allowed the chakra within his body to surge.
His reserves weren't particularly large.
But the quality of his chakra was exceptionally high.
And to prevent any potential complications, a faint red eyeshadow had already appeared beneath the mask covering his face.
"Now!"
With his perception constantly monitoring the seal, Natsuhiko suddenly reached out his hand.
Azure chakra gathered instantly in his palm.
At that exact moment—
A violent burst of chakra erupted from the seal like a raging torrent.
Unfortunately for it, its timing was terrible.
The moment it burst free, it slammed directly into Natsuhiko's waiting hand.
At the same time, Natsuhiko activated a sealing technique.
The seal he chose was the same type once used by the Fourth Hokage—
The Four Symbols Seal.
In Natsuhiko's memory, when Minato Namikaze sealed half of the Nine-Tails into Naruto, he had actually used the Eight Trigrams Seal.
As for the Reaper Death Seal, that technique had merely been used to precisely split the Yin half of the Nine-Tails and seal it within his own body.
The Eight Trigrams Seal was essentially a dual-layer seal formed from two Four Symbols Seals, which made it somewhat similar to the sealing array in front of Natsuhiko now.
However, the overlap in this seal was noticeably higher than that of the Eight Trigrams Seal. Because of that, Natsuhiko was fairly certain this wasn't the same technique.
"And honestly… this seal isn't as strong as the Eight Trigrams Seal," he murmured.
Perhaps when Minato Namikaze sealed the Ryūmyaku, his mastery of sealing techniques hadn't yet reached the level he later displayed when sealing the Nine-Tails.
As a result, the overlapping structure of this seal wasn't particularly refined.
That weakness was precisely why Natsuhiko had been able to find an opportunity to tamper with it.
But none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was dealing with the chakra in front of him.
The Ryūmyaku chakra that had leaked out had barely begun celebrating its escape from imprisonment when it suddenly sensed a massive threat.
A force filled with the aura of nature locked onto it.
At the same time, a terrifying pull began dragging it forward.
The scattered Ryūmyaku chakra roared violently.
Even though it was only a small fragment of the true Ryūmyaku, the power it carried was still immense.
In an instant—
The upper half of the Thousand Tower shattered completely.
Falling debris crashed down as the raging chakra whipped up a storm of sand, filling the tower like a miniature sandstorm.
Natsuhiko frowned slightly.
The environment had become rather terrible, but he had no intention of stopping.
Lines of sealing talismans appeared across his hands, spreading outward like living chains as they wrapped around the Ryūmyaku chakra.
The chakra resisted with everything it had.
It struggled and thrashed wildly.
Yet its resistance was still firmly suppressed by Natsuhiko's Senjutsu chakra combined with his sealing techniques.
...
Time passed slowly.
The violent storm gradually began to settle.
Little by little, the escaped Ryūmyaku chakra became more obedient.
Seeing the change, Natsuhiko let out a small breath of relief.
The struggle from that chakra had been far more intense than he expected.
Fortunately, he had entered Sage Mode from the very beginning.
With the support of his intermediate Sage Mode, he had been able to suppress the chakra so quickly.
Otherwise…
He wasn't even sure he could have endured it.
"Still, my current state won't last long. Better finish this quickly."
Natsuhiko was well aware that his Sage Mode couldn't be maintained for too long.
The reason was simple—
His chakra reserves were still too small.
It was something that often left him sighing in frustration.
Chakra levels at the level of a Chunin were honestly a bit embarrassing.
While combat strength wasn't determined purely by chakra quantity, lacking enough of it definitely caused problems.
In his current condition, he could maintain this state for maybe five to ten minutes at most.
"But after this… I'm certain my chakra problem won't feel nearly as bad."
Gritting his teeth, Natsuhiko pushed harder.
The scattered Ryūmyaku chakra began to rotate together with the black sealing marks surrounding it.
The rotation grew faster.
Stronger.
More violent.
Guided by the sealing technique, the Ryūmyaku chakra slowly began flowing into Natsuhiko's body.
Sara watched everything closely from the side.
She could clearly feel the Ryūmyaku chakra's unwilling resistance.
She could also sense it steadily diminishing.
Finally—
With one last violent gust of wind, the escaped Ryūmyaku chakra vanished completely.
Beneath Natsuhiko's clothing, an intricate sealing pattern had appeared across his lower abdomen.
Even without looking, he knew exactly what it was.
The Four Symbols Seal had fully formed.
And the scattered Ryūmyaku chakra…
Had been completely sealed inside him.
"Is it finished?"
Sara gazed at the now-quiet Ryūmyaku and at Natsuhiko, who had crouched down again to reinforce the surrounding seal.
She couldn't help but murmur softly to herself.
Indeed… it was finally over.
As Natsuhiko reorganized the seal, the previously frenzied Ryūmyaku chakra was brought under control.
The Thousand Tower, in that instant, returned to its former quiet, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Yeah… it's done." Natsuhiko exhaled deeply. "It was troublesome, but at least it's over for now."
"Then… should I congratulate you?" Sara turned her gaze toward him, a soft smile playing on her lips. "You finally got what you wanted?"
"You could put it that way," Natsuhiko replied, his voice calm despite the fatigue etched in his posture. "But my long-standing goal… hasn't been fully achieved yet."
Still, he maintained a gentle composure.
"And don't worry," he added, "my promise won't fail. I have my own moral bottom line."
Even if that bottom line was… admittedly flexible.
After giving himself a quiet mental note, he began focusing seriously on the Ryūmyaku chakra now sealed within him.
The Four Symbols Seal had performed perfectly.
Even so, this chakra was no match for the Nine-Tails' power.
At the very least, the escaped Ryūmyaku fragments he'd gathered were incomparable to the sheer destructive force of Kurama.
The result was clear: the chakra sealed within him was well-contained.
Though without the suppression of Sage Mode, it wasn't completely docile.
Its frenzied aura had reemerged, thrashing and resisting—but trapped by the Four Symbols Seal, it could not escape.
Relief washed over Natsuhiko.
He had no intention of having a ticking time bomb sealed inside him—one that could act up at any moment.
"The quantity is still a little low… but it's still more than I could ever manage on my own!"
The amount of chakra Natsuhiko had extracted wasn't massive, especially after days of being slowly eroded by the sealing techniques. Quantity-wise, it left something to be desired.
Still… it was far more than what he could draw from his own reserves.
And the quality of this chakra was incredible. How could he not feel pleased?
But soon, his expression shifted slightly.
He suddenly realized that some of the chakra was moving… leaving the seal.
It was as if the sealing technique had failed, or perhaps it simply didn't notice the chakra "escaping."
The energy flowed straight from the seal into his body, converging at the very center—his heart.
For a moment, his face darkened.
Then, noticing the trajectory of the chakra, he calmed down.
The heart… was where he had planted his seeds.
Could it be… that this chakra was flowing directly into the seeds themselves?
Closing his eyes, Natsuhiko focused—and sure enough, the Ryūmyaku chakra was entering his planting area.
"Bypassing the seal… and being redirected by the system itself?"
His expression was peculiar.
He knew his system's capabilities were strong—but to have sealed chakra drawn directly like this? That was unexpected.
Still, the extraction was helping him plant his seeds, so of course he had no reason to complain.
Though part of him grumbled inwardly that the chakra he had just worked so hard to acquire was now being "donated,"
the greater part of him felt elated.
This would save an enormous amount of time, and—better yet—the amount being absorbed wasn't overwhelming.
It was perfect.
"No matter how I look at it… this isn't a bad thing. In fact, it might even be a good thing for me!"
Natsuhiko blinked and couldn't resist checking his status panel, curious to see if anything had changed.
After all, before he had arrived here, all of his 'seeds' had already grown considerably, thanks to his promotion to Division Commander.
Especially the seeds tied to his Chunin-level chakra—they had already reached ninety-nine percent of their potential. Harvest could happen at any moment.
Thinking this, Natsuhiko didn't feel like lingering in the tower any longer. He turned to Sara and spoke softly.
"Your Majesty, I'm truly grateful for your help. Without you, I wouldn't have made it this far.
But now, I need to return and fully adapt to this new power. You already know where I am.
By tomorrow… or the day after, Your Majesty should be able to come find me."
"Tomorrow… or the day after?" Sara furrowed her brows slightly, then nodded. "I understand. I just hope that when I come, you'll still be there."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty," Natsuhiko replied with a faint smile. "As I said, I have my moral bottom line."
With that, he activated Flying Thunder God and vanished from the tower.
Even though he could have stayed behind and monitored everything—the display was fully within his retina, invisible to anyone else—he had long since grown accustomed to observing such things alone in private.
Everyone has their own secrets, and how one treats them is always important.
Natsuhiko's departure didn't seem to faze Sara. Clearly, this wasn't the first time she had seen something like this.
Her main concern now was simply that he wouldn't break his promise.
After all… all she truly wished for was a bright future for her people.
—
Using Flying Thunder God, Natsuhiko returned to the oasis in record time.
Obtaining the Ryūmyaku chakra was exhilarating—he could hardly contain his excitement.
Especially now, with his seeds likely on the verge of a breakthrough… how could he not feel happy?
After using his perception to survey the surrounding area outside the oasis, he blinked straight to his temporary residence.
Although no one from Sunagakure had come looking for him yet, Natsuhiko never forgot the importance of caution.
What he did not expect, however, was that as he approached the tree where he had inserted the flesh from Hashirama Senju, his system suddenly chimed in.
"Detected special attribute plant. Analyzing…"
"Analysis result: Fragmented power of Asura."
"…."
...
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